Sadly, Russ passed away in January 2003 but he and his music will live on in
our hearts and mind.

In 1928, Russ was born and raised in the Boston area.

He studied classical piano for 6 years and after listening to his dad play by
ear, he started to improvise and eventually formed his own band in Junior High
and played dances and other local affairs.

After getting married, he earned a degree in Business administration at Boston
University in 1951 and worked for Insurance Companies while still playing gigs
on the piano. In 1988, Russ retired as President of Reliance Special Risk
Insurance Company and has more time for sailing his boat cruising the
Chesapeake, playing piano and singing baritone with a barbershop quartet named
the Sound of Time.

He loves the style of music at the 23rd St. Café's Tuesday night jam sessions
and shares the house piano duties with "Father John" D'Amico and The
Rev. Warren Davis.